Part 5: Dees top 100 of the past 50 years – (the top 20)

[WERRIDEE 5,518]

Loved it. Got a better understanding on the older players. Got to reminisce  about the slightly older players and current players, just thought you ranked the players from the dark days apart Chunk and Junior a little too high. Just one thing irked me putting Grundy in the same sentence as Stynes he wishes he was half as good as big Jimmy.

Edited January 27, 2022 by WERRIDEE

[The heart beats true 18,145]

This was so good. Well done @Deespicable

When you read that list we’ve had the privilege of seeing a lot of outstanding footballers.

As an aside I once played a game of footy in 1998 with Brian Wilson for Heidelberg (really good standard of footy). I didn’t even know he was going to play, he just showed up on game day looking 20 kilos over his playing weight (and he never looked that fit when playing at the end of his VFL career). He kicked 8 goals from a forward pocket. Absolute freak.

[radar 1,865]

Glad in this day and internet age Greg Wells and Gary Hardeman figured prominently. 
Thankyou

[picket fence 17,534]

10 hours ago, dieter said:

Alves instead of Healy any day.

Yep agree and Clarry ahead of Tracc!

[Biffen 12,947]

No Juice?

Heresy.

[DeeZone 10,140]

Thanks Deespicable that has been a thoroughly enjoyable series and a great trip down memory lane. We have had so many great players at MFC, all deserve to be there and I can’t fault your final 20. I hope that I am still around to see the re- ranking  of the list when this current crop of players hang up their boots. It is a very intriguing topic.!!

[Flag 2021 143]

Really well done, Deespicable.

Great research, thoughtful summaries and clear knowledge of the materials, the statistics and the personalities of the players.

This is a record to keep in the MFC archives.

(Or maybe just keep it right here; it might be safer.)

[Jjrogan 1,439]

Fantastic series. A pleasure to read, so thank you for this.  Lists are always subjective but I think you did a great job on nailing the tiers.   

I would say, as our (only) Premiership captain in this era, 5-time All Australian ruckman and clearly head and shoulders above his peers, I reckon he has Gary covered even now (both 2 Blueys) Back to back should do it though :)

Edited January 31, 2022 by Jjrogan

[58er 6,568]

On 1/27/2022 at 5:49 PM, Neil Crompton said:

Fantastic effort D, and much appreciated by all of us. Must have taken you months to prepare this thesis! I have absolutely no criticism of your work but I do have a question about the Viney's. You rate Todd at 11 and Jack at 19. Can I ask why you then had Jack as "rover" and Todd on the bench?

Probably because if the synergy of the Gawn Oliver and Petracca with Jack that we are now lucky to see.

For eg if Stynesy was first ruck Todd would have been a better option. 

In today's footy being  an interchange is not an indication of lesser ability necessarily.  The medical sub maybe. ! 

[Dee man 303]

Thanks so much for putting this list together, Deespicable. It was an excellent summer read, and I appreciate the enormous amount of effort that went into it. For some reason, I missed this final instalment at the end of last month, but I'm more than happy to give it a bump back to the top of the forum where it belongs.

One thing I appreciate about your list is that you weren't sucked in too much by game played stats. While I personally have huge respect for guys like James McDonald, Nathan Jones, and Adem Yze (and were surprised to see them as low as they were), it's hard to argue with the names you ranked above them (and I won't even make an attempt, given that my Demon-watching days only began around 1997). As such, thanks for giving us younger fans an insight into some of the Demon legends from the 70s, 80s, and 90s!

[leave it to deever 17,521]

You know its top shelf when Allen J is on the bench.

[SAlves 37]

Just to chime, I think Stan Alves has been very unfairly treated in your rankings. 

He captained Melbourne in those 'dark' days in the mid 70s from 1973-1976. He won the 'Bluey' Truscott medal in 1972 & again in 1974 & was an emergency in Melbourne's Team of the Century. He was also runner up in the Brownlow medal in 1975. Played 4 games for Victoria. 

He was a far better wingman than Steven Stretch & although Alan Johnson was one of my very favourite players in the 1980s I think there is a case for Stan Alves to be sitting around the same ranking as Alan Johnson.

 

Alves v Johnson.docx

[SAlves 37]

[Maldonboy38 6,406]

Thanks for all your work - a great time or reminiscing, evaluating and often nodding in agreement.

I cried when Hardeman was beaten by Greig in the Brownlow: the bloke was a star but received so little media attention because the pathetic Dees constantly missed finals and were never on the TV. Other club supporters today don't know about him at all which really givers me the jimmy brits.

I was a massive Greg Wells fan, but didn't realise he was so short. Strange how inaccurate long term memories can be.

Can you imagine if the stars aligned and we had Flower on one wing and Alves on the other?Sstuff me, that would have been a joy to behold. 

Brett Lovett. For a plodding, big-bummed player with no x factor, he was a gun, pure and simple. In a team full of emerging stars and talent, he was consistent, almost unbeatable, reliable and more highly skilled than he looked. 

I have been saying for a while now that Clayton Oliver is the best midfielder I have ever seen at the Dees, and even after all the players on this list, I still believe it is true. I have seen players with as much skill, but the way he plays the game at full pace, runs away from a stoppage at full pace, hits the pack at full pace: I can't take my eyes of him.  

And Robbie. Some call soccer the beautiful game, because of Pele. Absolute BS. You want to see beauty in sport - wtach a highlight reel of Robbie.

[Wizard of Koz 1,128]

On 1/27/2022 at 7:48 AM, Deespicable said:

Dees top 100 of the past 50 years – part 5 (the top 20)

Well my series has finally come to an end and as requested the top 20 are in reverse order, although no prizes for guessing who I chose as No.1 

The series has been somewhat cathartic for me and I have enjoyed all your comments, although in hindsight there have been two criticisms to my order by fellow ageing Demonlanders that I tend to think now have merit. 

The first was by the gent who reckons Graham Osborne (way back at No.81 on my list) was majorly overrated. I did say I was enamoured with his dashes and errant bounces, but having watched a quarter on video from a 1973 game, I now think I might have upgraded him too much. He did play 146 games for us. But Peter Walsh probably deserves his spot.

The other ranking that I’d probably relook at now is former skipper Stan Alves who I had at 25. Maybe he should have slotted in ahead of Steven Stretch at 21. He was runner up in the Brownlow after all. And it was great watching him play in the two grand finals of 1977.

I’m comfortable with how I have ranked the current crop and obviously Kozzy, Jacko, Lingers and others would be there if they’d been around for more than two seasons.

Finally, it was Werridee who wanted his usual team, comprised from this list, so here goes:

B: Johnson Wight J.Stynes (with a few more matches, May will replace Wight the way he’s going and Jimmy could play anywhere in his youth)

HB: B.Lovett Hardeman Yze

C: Flower Wells G.Healy

HF: Petracca Schwarz B.Wilson

F: Farmer Neitz Lyon

Ru: Gawn Oliver J.Viney

Int: Jones, White, T.Viney, Bruce

Sub: Robertson or Jakovich

20 Jeff White 98-08 236 games, 95 goals A Frankston lad, White was the No.1 pick in the 1994 draft and spent three somewhat miserable years learning the ropes with newly-born Fremantle. He could take a hanger back then, but he also would be pushed out of the way and copped a few knocks with facial fractures and a ruptured spleen limiting his game-time. But with Jimmy showing signs of ageing, we decided to make a play for him and won the battle for his services with St Kilda. We had to give up pick 2 to secure him, keeping No.1 for Trapper. White was only 195cm but could leap like Nic Nat and even got a state of origin gig for Victoria against the Allies in 1998. We went from four wins to 16 and a preliminary final under Daniher that year. White, who started the year primarily as a forward (kicked four in our upset win over Port), had taken over from Stynes by the finals, although respect for Jimmy made it a tandem. From then on White was always our main man, he had 47 hitouts against Ryan Turnbull in 2000. He ended his career with 5000 hitouts and only Gawny has gone past him in club history. He was one of our few players in the 2000 Grand Final that could say he beat his opponent and the honours and injuries kept coming. A significant shin injury in 2003 cruelled his season and led to him wearing a shin protector for the remainder of his career and in 2005 he was inadvertently kicked in the face by Steven King in the finals which broke his jaw and required metal plates. But in 2004 he won the Bluey, made the All-Australian side and polled 15 votes in the Brownlow. And in 2005 there was his legendary goal from a free kick against Wade Skipper in the final minute against the Bulldogs that sent us into the finals. The ball sailed through from 50m.  

19 Jack Viney 13- 150 games We’d just come off the tanking inquiry and were about to appoint Mark Neeld as coach when young Jack agreed to be a father/son pick for us in 2011 and I’m sure we have to thank dad Todd for a lot of that. Jack played VFL for us in 2012 and David Wojcinski broke his draw in his first game, but Jack was made of much tougher stuff to be too worried. But had he known back then that we would give up Ollie Wines at the draft for an outside runner, he may have opted out. But thankfully he didn’t and he played one of the most memorable opening games in our 79-point thrashing by Port in 2013, where Neeld’s “we didn’t see that coming” was born. The only thing we didn’t see coming that day was how good Jack was already – he had 22 disposals, including an audacious 30m handball out of trouble on the members wing. He has often been injured, but when he plays he gives us grunt and commitment, clearly FMC was stamped on his papers. He was second in our B&F in 2015, but played enough games in 2016 to join dad Todd on the honor roll. Goody made him joint co-captain in 2017, but the injuries kept coming and a navicular foot issue appeared career threatening. I always felt he had bulked himself up so much in the weightroom that at just 178cm and 87kg, he was just too heavy for his feet. Naim Suleymanoglu was probably lighter, but somehow he managed to get back for the 2018 finals and it was primetime Jack. Boy did he lift for them – even had 11 clearances in our loss to West Coast. He had to wait another three years, lost the captaincy (let’s face it, he is way too much of an individual off-field to inspire a whole side in this PC era), and was courted by Geelong off-season, but by September 2021, he was ready to make a statement. And boy did he do it – have a look at the GF bounce and the legal hit he put on Macrae early. And he kept at it all evening with 12 clearances to be one of our best. We should all be grateful that a lad with white line fever is on our side. 

18 Brett Lovett 86-97 235 games, 48 goals There are not too many defenders up this high, so you can immediately gauge the esteem with which the best mate of Garry Lyon was held. I mean he wasn’t quick, wasn’t a thumping kick, couldn’t leap high. But gees he could play. He’d initially spent three years trying out at Hawthorn, captaining their under-19 side, and probably would have headed back to Inverloch, but then GM Ray Manley gave him a glowing reference and he joined us and played the last eight games on 1986. It wasn’t until towards the end of ‘87 that he became a permanent fixture at half-back and it coincided with our run that should have taken us to glory. He was just so clean with his hands and kicking – one of those players that seemed to make the game slow down as he approached. He was runner up in our B&F in 88 and was three times in the VFL/AFL team of the year, the precursor to All-Australian. His battles with Peter Daicos were legendary and he was made vice-captain in 1990 and thrown into the midfield. He was fourth in the Brownlow that year. He was still mega-effectual up until 1995, snagging three sausages in our semi-final win against the Dogs in 1994. A chronic pelvic injury led him to retire after 1997. 

17 Nathan Jones 06-21 302 games, 141 goals It’s going to be interesting to see how history records Jonesy. Three B&Fs, second most games, skipper for four seasons and club icon during an era when we were so bad, it was embarrassing. Back in 2012 under Neeld, Jones and Wattsy were the two most skilled players at training by a long, long way. Like Alves and Wells, he could have jumped ship, but didn’t and I suspect Roosy’s arrival in 2014 had a fair bit to do with it. Initially though he must have thought he was lucky when we drafted him from the Stingrays with pick No.12 in 2005. He had to wait until Round 17 to debut and was so resolute as a teenager, that he played finals. The problem was that he went another 253 games before playing in another one. It was somewhat prophetic that kicked the sealer in the 2018 elimination final against the Cats because I’ve never been so incensed as I was when Steve Johnson scornfully sent Jonesy’s head into the mud as they clobbered us in 2013 at Kardinia Park. I reckon his best game was when he tagged Marc Murphy in his prime and blitzed him and in 2017, he gave everyone a reminder of his value when he was best on ground in our win in our come-from-behind win in Alice Springs against Gold Coast. By 2018 he wasn’t really needed anymore – his work was done. He did however give us one final BOG cameo with a three-goal game at the SCG against the Swans in 2019. 

16 Jeff Farmer 95-01 118 games, 259 goals It was a stroke of luck that in 1994, Fremantle was blissfully unaware of talents such as Andrew Mcleod and a 16 year old from Tambellup in south-eastern WA called Jeff Farmer. We gave up dour defender Phil Gilbert to secure his services. He kicked a goal with his first kick against Geelong and he infamously handballed to his unsuspecting skipper Garry Lyon in the goalsquare late in one game. He loved to play on at almost every opportunity – often at inappropriate times. But his flair became obvious by mid-1996. He kicked three against the Pies on QB and finished with 37 goals from the pocket, although it took a trip by Lyon and Balme to get him to come back from Mandurah the next off-season. The Whiz was mega popular. He won the mark of year in 1998 against the Tigers for a hanger on Lyon and both he and Neiter kicked six the following week in the qualifying final to defeat Adelaide, who somehow won the flag that year. He was a 174cm magician with 76 goals in 2000 with his nine goal second half against the Pies that QB year stunning. He’d been benched for a goalless first half and only got back on because Ben Beams got injured. The next week he kicked seven against the Hawks and he had a couple of bags of eight, including against the Roos in the preliminary final that year. He kicked three in the granny as well, not bad given he was playing with a broken rib. But his infamy led to off field problems including a couple of serious offences in the off-season in Perth. A hamstring injury cost him seven weeks and by the time he returned, 2001 had bitten the dust for us, although he did snag five in a couple of late wins. We let him go to Freo in 2002 in exchange for pick 17 and in his first match against us he kicked the winner after the siren, as good players so often do.

15 David Schwarz 91-02 173 games, 243 goals If you weren’t alive in 1994 then you were seriously unlucky because that was the year Schwarter went from being a talented young prospect to freakish superstar who could leap for hangers, baulk opponents with blind turns and bump oncoming blokes out of the way. The boy from Sunbury was 195cm and around 95kg in those days and had his career stalled a bit in 93 with an OP groin issue, before being given the keys to the forward line with Garry Lyon. That’s why Neiter had to play CHB. By the end of 94, he’d kicked 60 goals from CHF including nine straight against Sydney, taken us to the prelim final and was regarded as the second best forward in the comp behind Wayne Carey. He even took more marks than him that year. Only Glen Jakovich, then regarded as the games’ best defender, could stop the Ox. Then in a pre-season intra-club game tragedy struck as he did his knee. He was back ready to go 16 weeks after surgery, but the knee went again in round 9. And again in a reserves practice match the following pre-season. By the time he returned again in round 11 of 1997, he was 113kg and still a bullocking forward – but gone was the mobility. He was still game smart and aggressive, but no longer a superstar. He was thrown up as trade bait with Richmond’s Wayne Campbell in 1998 and responded to the slight by winning the B&F in 99. In 2000, he was one of the few who really tried to stand up to Essendon’s thuggery. From then on he seemed to have a mix of off-field issues, with racist allegations, suspensions and gambling addictions among his foibles. But wowee, what a year ’94 was. Better than Jakovich’s 91 I reckon. 

14 Alan Johnson 82-90 135 games, 95 goals He’d been a highly successful player with Perth for several season when we claimed him with first pick in the 1981 two-pick VFL draft at the age of 25. He was just 179cm and 75kg – Taylah Harris is bigger and stronger – but he was mega talented. Quick and a good kick, he spent the first few years on the wing opposite Robbie and won our B&F in 1983, but his slight frame and age leant himself to injuries. He had calf issues in 85, a broken thumb in 86 and in 87 badly tore his hamstring which meant he missed our finals run. With Yeater now a wingman and his hamstring issue fixed, he was sent to the back pocket in 88 and that’s where he became an absolute star at the age of 31 with his ability to read the play and his beautiful long kick launching counter-attacks. He was among our best in the granny, but was even better in 89. Opposition sides started tagging him, that’s how good he was. After starring in our EF win over the Pies in 1989, the Cats absolutely hammered him the next week. He won our B&F again that year and was part of the VFL team of the year. Hammys and calfs became an issue again for him in 1990 and he retired, ending up coaching Old Trinity in 1992.

13 Adem Yze 95-08 271 games, 234 goals OK, quite a few of you have noticed the similarities with Christian Salem and I tend to agree. Both silky left footers, both of south/eastern European descent and both masters of spotting up a target under pressure. I remember Ooze’s first game – he wore the long-sleeved No.44 then and was a late inclusion on a wet day against Richmond and no-one in the members seemed to know who he was. He got a few nice touches that day but struggled to get much game time from Balmey, although he did snag five goals in 96 against Fitzroy in what should have been a breakout game. Ironically it was in our first game under interim coach Greg Hutchison in our horror 97 that we saw just how good he was playing on the wing. He snagged one from 45m from the boundary that night and you could just tell he loved finally getting a good run and a licence to do extraordinary things. For the next decade he was all class in the No.13 racking up 226 consecutive games – he even got his wife to give birth three days before the season so his streak could continue. He won our B&F in 2001 and in 2002 he was in the AA team along with polling 17 votes to finish third in the Brownlow. He could take a nice hanger, but it was his freakish snaps that most of us remember, his five goal QB game against the Pies in 2005 was stunning and he was at it again the following year – he loved that fixture. 

12 Brian Wilson 82-90 154 games, 208 goals Willow! An absolute showman like Nick Kyrgios, he was among the most hated players by opposition fans because of the way he celebrated a goal and his propensity to stage for free kicks by arching his back when touched. He’d already been at Footscray and North, when Barass got him over aged 20 along with Stickey. You have to ask why they let him go, I mean he was third in the Roos B&F in 81, so clearly his style irked a few at those clubs and he was regarded as overweight, so a bit of fat-shaming went on I suspect. But for a club that won just one game in 1981, Willow was a godsend in the middle, averaging 28 disposals. He had 40 touches in a win in the mud at Morrabbin that year. He wasn’t fast, nor was he a long kick, but he was famous for his baulks and liked trying to take a hanger. His massive hips meant he could ride a bump well and he was clever with dishing it off by hand under pressure, a bit like Greg Williams. His lack of pace must have worried our hierarchy a bit, because even early in 1983 we sent him forward on occasions and he kicked seven in round 3 against Sydney. I remember going to Vic Park early in 85 and he was just so elusive as our mock full-forward on a windy day kicking six and almost getting us home in front of a vile crowd. He won our goalkicking with 40 that year but injuries started to curtail him, although watch a replay of our win at Whitten Oval in 1987 and you will see how clever he was as a half-forward. He snagged two goals against the Hawks at Waverley in the prelim but had his collarbone broken – I think Dipper got him as well. He was still a star in 88 and was our only player with more than 20 disposals in the horror GF, but really was more of a cameo man in 89 and 90. He retired but then St Kilda lured him back and sure enough, his only really good game for them was a six-goal matchwinning display against … you guessed it … the Demons. 

11 Todd Viney 87-99 233 games 92 goals Mike Sheahan used to love wheeling out stats that showed how insipid Melbourne were when Todd Viney was out injured or suspended during the 90s. Such was his presence back then that he turned our midfield into a feared unit. He wasn’t a great kick but boy was he tough and he was much needed alongside lighter frames like Greg Healy, Andrew Obst and Stephen Stretch. And being bigger than Jack by a couple of inches, he could do even more damage. He was already a big bodied mid at Sturt when we got him across as part of the “last chance for Robbie’ campaign and even though he missed nine games with injury in 87, we made him vice-captain as a 21-year-old in 1988. But like Jack, he started mounting up the injuries with knee and back issues. He played enough in 93 to win our B&F and was a force in 94. He did try his hand at tennis fitness coaching with Mark Philippoussis in 96 (he was a very talented junior player) but soon realised he loved playing footy. The Dees made him captain in ’98 and he claimed his second B&F that year and first All-Australian. He wasn’t a big goalscorer, three against the Tigers in 99 was a career-high, but he was always big on clearance numbers and tackles – like son, like father you may say.  

10 Gary Hardeman 67-77, 81 – 219 games Gary was just inspiring in the early 70s whether playing for us or Victoria as he did 11 times. As a centre-half back he had a good leap and strong hands and he had great pace, although he was a bit of a wonky old kick at times. What’s harder to believe these days is that he was just 187cm – I mean 6ft2in and playing on all the big forwards in those days. I was also shocked to see that his main rival as the best CHB in the comp back then – Peter Knights – was only 188cm. Midfielders now. Hardeman played in our 1971 night grand final win under lights at Lakeside Oval which was his only team glory. He was third in the 1972 Brownlow count and second in 1974 with 23 votes behind Keith Greig. In 1977 he tied for eighth, so the umps definitely loved him, even more than our club it seems. He’d worked originally as a taxi driver, but clearly wasn’t paid enough by us as he left in his prime to play with Sturt in 1978, after mooting the move a couple of years earlier. Or maybe it was because we had never given him a B&F which is extraordinary given how well he polled and how regularly he had more than 20 disposals as a defender. He even ventured forward a bit in 1975 and kicked 5.6 in a win over the Dons at the MCG. He made a bit of a mistake returning to play under Barass in 1981 and struggled to have an infuence. But his earlier value was recognised when he was named CHB in our team of the century. 

9 Gerard Healy 79-85 130 games, 189 goals And the winner of the 1985 best and fairest is Danny Hughes! If you thought Raelene Boyle was unjustly robbed by Renate Stecher of an Olympics gold medal in 1972, then this is almost on a par. Healy had become our most reliable midfielder (Robbie was often injured) and had blossomed from a teenage wingman to being a clever goal sneak next to Mark Jackson to being a complete infielder with a mix of hard work and evasiveness in tight. He was a pretty precise kick as well. He went on to win the 88 Brownlow and it’s fair to say that he had even better years for Sydney than for us, but in 1985 when the club got wind of his impending move to the Geoffrey Edelsten-financially cashed up Swans, they decided to alter history a bit - Healy had won our B&F in 84 after all. I reckon Healy’s best game was at Princes Park in 84 when we beat the premiers Hawthorn and looked finals bound under Barass, only for it to become a false dawn. He had the ball on a string with 30 touches quite a few times in 85, but that was forgotten once the Sydney whisper got out.  

8 Greg Wells 69-80 224 games, 251 goals Wellsy played the middle of the park back in the day when Barry Price and Ian Stewart ruled and when the centreman role usually came with a liberal dose of mud on your face or a sticky cricket wicket ruining your boots. Our No.11 was a beautiful mark for his size, especially given he was only 175cm - Charlie Spargo is nearly that tall. He didn’t take hangers, his penchant was more taking one-handers or sliding through the mud for a chesty. He also had a knack for drifting forward and snagging a goal - he kicked five in a game a couple of times and 34 for the year in 1972 - he was second in the Brownlow to Len Thompson that year. He was so incensed with the sacking of Ian Ridley as coach in 1973 that he trained at Subiaco and considered a move, while in 1975 Carlton offered up a bevy of players to snare him. But being a Demon fan and from our bayside recruiting zone like Gerard Healy, he stayed put. He was made captain when Stan Alves left and won a couple of Bluey’s, plus he was a regular for Victoria. I don’t recall too much animosity to him moving to Carlton mid-season in 1980 (after a frustrating decade with us he wanted to play finals). His final game for us was Round 13, 1980 and he amassed a club record 48 disposals against Fitzroy that day before his move to the Blues. I was rapt when he won the flag with them in 81. 

7 Jim Stynes 87-98 264 games, 130 goals It’s hard not to remember Jimmy as our selfless president who died at 45, still trying to save us from an embarrassing era. But as a player big Jim was a running machine and infamously took on Olympic marathoner Steve Moneghetti up one hill at a Ballarat pre-season training camp. As a youngster he emerged from a stint at VFA club Prahran in time for our 87 finals campaign and he was pretty handy, although invariably then he’d play CHF or CHB and back up Strawb O’Dwyer, who was a superior tapman. He copped heaps for the 15m penalty that put Gary Buckenara within goalscoring distance for the matchwinner in the 87 preliminary final, but Jim’s mobility and marking prowess made him a much-lauded player of the ilk of Brodie Grundy today. And back then ruckmen could win the Brownlow which he did in 1991. Hard to believe that he hadn’t stepped foot in Australia until he was 18 when he responded to an advert in his local Dublin newspaper. That he went on to play 244 consecutive games (and 264 all up) with multiple injuries is the stuff of a movie script. Great man. 

6 Clayton Oliver 16- 124 games I remember watching an intraclub pre-season game at Casey in 2016 and Roosy and Goody just couldn’t stop smiling every time Olly went near it. Here was this 18-year-old kid winning almost every clearance and dishing it off quickly by hand and his first game of “see ball, win ball” in the guts against GWS was a cracker – he polled votes in the Brownlow. But after two best and fairests and his first AA, the Olly rise hit a snag in 2020 and it’s been well-documented by me and others that he had to stop playing 'hot potato’ and start using his pace to take the game on offensively by hand or foot. I reckon Goody and Ben Matthews took him aside and just pointed out what was going wrong after his handball back to Joel Smith in the goalsquare against Richmond cost a goal. But to his credit he started working on taking full responsibility by foot and it was lovely to watch him destroy teams in 2021 with his trusty sidekick Trac – even the goals are starting to come. His game against Brisbane in the qualifying final was unbelievable and his third B&F and second AA so deserving. I still reckon there’s heaps more upside with Olly and we are only just starting to see what he can do, but if he sticks at working his butt off, he may just become our greatest ever - surpassing Robbie and even Barassi. I mean he’s only 24 and dodgy shoulders appear his only limitation. 

5 Christian Petracca 15- 127 games It wasn’t until 2020 that Trac really arrived as a star of the comp. Up until then he’d had his rookie season destroyed by a full knee reconstruction op and then been forced to do time as a mid-sized power forward. When we won and he played well like he did against Essendon (four goals) and Collingwood (three in QB 2017) then he was the man. But back then he seemed to be patted on the back too much and the following week he’d be barely sighted. He was outstanding in our pre-season AFLX flag of 2018 as our ruckman, but still prone to missing set-shot sitters. Early in 2019 quite a few friends would come up to me and tell me that Trac wouldn’t make it and the Dees should trade him, but you could tell in the second half of that horrific year that he was working his butt off and the wheel was turning. The decision to send him into the middle in 2020, at the expense of Angus, was huge and made easy for Goody by the fact that he’d bob up everywhere and his core strength ability to wriggle out of anything led to comparisons with Dusty. He didn’t even need the fend off, he was that strong. He also had even more confidence when sent forward, how about that snapped goal with two Saints hanging off him that won us the match against St Kilda in 2020. His first B&F came and then last year he seemed more intent on making sure he played well in big games – he was huge against Geelong, won the Anzac Medal, and went to another level against Port in Adelaide. Come the granny, you sort of sensed that with Olly our best in the first final and Gawny the man against the Cats, there was only one way for the season to finish – with a Trac special. A magic first goal of the game off a step from 50m, followed by wizardry on the run from the Brownlow in the third quarter. As with Olly, only longevity in the game stops him from being ranked higher in the Melbourne pantheon at this point. 

4 David Neitz 93-08 306 games, 631 goals For a long time every second story on David Neitz debated whether he should be playing as a defender. Yes he was very good back there in 1994 and for about half of 1995 and he did have one memorable day when he blitzed Wayne Carey, but Neiter never really had the lateral mobility to be a star back there. He was a beautiful mark and lead - not pack screamers like Howey but strong ‘hands out in front’ stuff. He was also a thumping set-shot kick nailing them from 50m at will. He won the Coleman Medal in 2002 and got an AA guernsey that year and he holds just about every record at Melbourne, most games, most goals, longest stint as skipper and the Reverend was his biggest fan, especially after his shirtfront on Hawthorn’s Luke McCabe in Rd 1 of 2002, which came at a time when a few had questioned his leadership after our 2001 fadeout. He kicked nine against the Blues that year on his way to 82 for the season and also slammed home nine against the Tigers in 2004, but double figures somehow eluded him. He was also a handy post-game drinker, which is why his choice of career after footy as a craft beer manufacturer was inspired. 

3 Max Gawn 10- 159 games Maxy joined Gaz as our leader in All-Australian selections with five this year, but the entire population gained an awareness of his value to the side in round 23 when he went forward and nailed our most important kick since Neil Crompton’s 1964 effort. That was followed by his freak show highlights in the preliminary final. He only needs one more AA to match Simon Madden and Dean Cox and provided he doesn’t get a sore back changing nappies this year, he will join them and increase his claim to being the best ruckman of all time. He is such a fit bloke these days that injury permitting he could probably play another five years. That didn’t seem likely when we drafted him with pick No.34 in 2009 and he rocked up at training after a few gaspers on the way there. Like Trac, he missed most of his rookie season recovering knee surgery, and we were so bad in 2011 that he just had to get a game. His debut against the Essendon was a win thanks to Brad Green and Liam Jurrah, but he lasted just three games before being omitted and another knee injury in 2012, meant that his rise was a slow burn – if not for striking up a mateship with Trenners and others he may well have been cast aside. By 2014 there were good signs, setting a record 80 hitouts against Bendigo for Casey in the VFL and I think we all remember watching that match down at Geelong in 2015 when he had 44 hitouts, took some amazing pack marks  and even laid five tackles. Roosy challenged him pre-season of 2016 and it only got better for him, his clash with Todd Goldstein down in Tassie is one of my best memories – 63 taps and two goals and you could just sense how shattered he was when Goldy was gifted a couple of free kicks and finished with five goals and the three Charlie votes. Sure Gawny’s a knockabout, but he’s also quite possibly also our best off-field leader ever – we all have heard what an inspiration Ron Barassi was on the field, but in this day LGBTQI age to unite a team like he has done, has been nothing short of special. He’d probably tell you that only a Kiwi could do it.  

2 Garry Lyon 86-99 226 games 426 goals The skilfull kid from Kyabram snagged the sealer against Richmond on debut and kicked 26 goals in 20 games including seven at the MCG in a close win against the Cats that year.  He was only 19 when he was stretchered off with a broken leg in round 22 against the Dogs in 1987 and a pretty strong case could be made that his absence ultimately cost us the flag that year. Lyon was worth every cent as a youngster. John Northey, who Lyon co-owned Richmond’s London Tavern back then, used to send him down back to save games late and invariably he’d come up trumps. That’s why in state games they’d play him in defence because they had an array of riches up forward anyway back then. In 1988 as a 20yo he was best on ground as a ruck rover/forward against Carlton in the prelim, but unfortunately I don’t think Gaz would watch the 88 grand final replay much - god knows how Scott Maginness kept him quiet, although you can still see Garry’s class with his two goals. But Lyon was a big game player - he kicked a lazy 10 in the 94 semi-final against the Bulldogs for instance. It’s just that he kept having back-related hamstring issues which invariably coincided with September. I remember his teammates turing around to watch him walk off the Junction Oval after reaggravating him his hammy injury on the eve of the 89 finals and you knew our hopes that year were over. Earlier that year he took on Gary Ablett Snr and while the Cats were too good for us that day, I reckon our Garry was winning his battle until just before half time when a frustrated Yaaablett decided to forsake his commitment to God and wiped Lyon out with a severe blow to the head. Garry (two Rs) was also a super leader and there was no more exciting time than in 94 when he, David Schwarz and Sean Charles turned us into a human highlights reel with Lyon kicking 79 goals that year. As a 30yo, he did manage to get his body to hold up for our 1998 revival under Daniher and he was just such a smart player, blocking for teammates and calmly turning out of trouble when needed. He was in the VFL team of the year twice and added three AA teams from 93-95 and he was the only Dee, until this year I suspect, to make the top five of Mike Sheahan’s top 50 (now Robbo’s top 50). That’s why he was named on a flank in our Team of the Century and why I have no qualms about listing him at No.2. 

1 Robbie Flower 73-87 272 games, 315 goals For the best part of 15 years there was one annual highlight for Dees fans and that was watching Robbie play for Victoria in state games. It was only then you got to fully appreciate the majesty of the lad who was laughed at when he wore spectacles to training in the fourths after coming from Murrumbeena. Ron Barassi sent him to full-back to play on Malcolm Blight one day and our own whacko Jacko tried to deck him at training, but Tulip won everyone’s respect by his deeds on the field. He was a brilliant mark, could evade almost anything (sadly not Dipper’s shoulder in the ’87 preliminary though) and if you ever watch highlights of his games, you can quickly appreciate just how good he was, how fluent and natural a mover he was as he charged down his wing and how amazing his aerial work was – Fritter’s the only player I’ve seen arch his back so well in the air. Some reckon Keith Greig (two Brownlows) or the courageous Francis Bourke or Doug Hawkins were better wingmen, but I’d take Flower any day and he’d be just as damaging if he was playing today, although he’d need someone to point him in the direction of the weight room. I remember a story that his only weight training was done squeezing a squash ball (he worked at Thorold Merrett’s sports store) in the car to training. He should have won the best first year player – Big Carl wouldn’t play him until Rd 10 so Richmond’s Robert Lamb got the nod. He also should have won a Brownlow. He was third in 1979 and again in 1984 and overall his tally of 150 votes is the most by any Dee. And he missed 52 games with a variety of injuries, the most prophetic one being a broken finger that cost him a spot in our 1987 night premiership side.

https://demonland.com/forums/topic/52098-part-4-dees-top-100-of-the-past-50-years-21-40/#comments

 

https://demonland.com/forums/topic/52027-part-3-top-100-demons-of-the-past-50-years/

 

https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51988-part-2-top-100-players-of-the-past-50-years-61-80/

 

https://demonland.com/forums/topic/51962-top-100-demons-of-past-50-years/

 

Petracca, Clayton and Max are all better now than what Lyon was at his peak. lyon prob goes 5. These boys are genuine legends already. Gary was fantastic but injured alot. The here and now needs to be respected and appreciated for what it is.  3 of the 4 best players of the last 50 years all in form right now. 

1. Clayton (consistency, skills, strength, engine and smart) To good for most to appreciate.

2. Robbie

3. Max

4. Petracca 

5. Lyon

Edited February 17, 2022 by Wizard of Koz